贅肉換牛肉：中國肥胖防控的多元實踐

江蘇無錫梁溪區山北街道推出 “減掉1斤贅肉，換回1斤牛肉” 的社區減重活動，憑借直觀實在的激勵迅速走紅，參與熱情高漲。該活動面向 BMI 超標居民，要求通過合理運動與飲食減重，嚴禁使用減肥藥或極端節食，達到減重目標者可在 2027 年初兌換牛肉獎勵，既體現了行為經濟學的激勵思路，也意在提升轄區居民與職工健康水平、優化營商環境。

當前，中國超重與肥胖問題日益突出，已從個人健康問題上升為國家層面的公共衛生議題。數據顯示，中國半數以上成年人超重或肥胖，如不加以控制，預計 2030 年成人和兒童超重肥胖率將分別達到 70.5% 和 31.8%，給慢性病防控和醫療衛生體系帶來巨大壓力。這一變化源于四十多年經濟快速發展帶來的飲食結構與生活方式轉變，高熱量飲食、久坐少動等成為重要誘因。

為此，國家及各地政府出臺多項措施綜合應對。國家衛健委推動全國二級以上醫療機構廣泛開設體重管理門診，計劃到 2026 年底實現所有三級公立綜合醫院全覆蓋。上海、四川南充、浙江臺州等地結合基層服務、志愿者干預、數字健康技術等探索本地化方案。與此同時，民眾健康意識不斷提升，線下健身場所與線上健身課程熱度攀升，智能設備與 AI 技術也為個性化體重管理提供助力，全社會正形成科學減重、健康第一的新風尚。

《北京周報》2026年第13期刊發的英文文章帶您關注中國肥胖防控。

Residents perform traditional kungfu fan movements at a fitness-themed activity in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, on June 10, 2025 (XINHUA)

Lose a Pound, Gain a Pound

The offer, posted on a community bulletin board in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, in early March, was strikingly straightforward: Lose a pound of belly fat, gain a pound of beef.

Within 48 hours, more than 1,000 people signed up. Within a week, that number more than doubled, as word spread through Chinese social media of how one neighborhood is tackling what has now become a national priority: shrinking the nation's waistline.

The "fat-for-beef" challenge launched by a neighborhood in Wuxi's Liangxi District, is open to residents with a body mass index (BMI) above 23 or waistlines exceeding healthy standards. Those who shed pounds through exercise and diet—strictly no diet pills or fasting—can claim their reward at the beginning of 2027: one pound of beef or three pounds of beef bones for every pound lost, up to 20 pounds maximum. In China, the threshold BMI for overweight is 24, and that for obesity is 28. These numbers are lower than the standard World Health Organization thresholds (25 and 30) to account for different body compositions and higher health risks at lower BMIs in Asian populations.

"We wanted to give people a tangible incentive," said Lin Ye, head of the Shanbei Subdistrict Service Center, which organized the program with the support of local authorities. "Telling people to lose weight for the sake of their health is abstract. Telling them they'll get beef—that's tangible."

Heavy burden

"We also want to help our workers improve their fitness and energy levels," Lin explained. The subdistrict is home to over 330 businesses, making this initiative not just about health, but about workforce quality and creating a more attractive business environment.

Online reactions have been overwhelmingly positive, with netizens nationwide asking, "Why can't our community do this?"

The smartness of this idea lies in behavioral economics, transforming the tedious process of weight loss into immediate, tangible rewards.

The program's viral success reflects a deeper shift underway in China, where weight management has moved from a personal vanity project to a matter of national concern. With more than half of Chinese adults now overweight or obese, and chronic diseases straining the healthcare system, the country can no longer afford to ignore its expanding waistline.

At this year's session of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, which concluded in Beijing on March 12, lawmakers and health officials delivered a sobering message. "Weight management is not about aesthetics," said Cheng Lifen, a deputy to the NPC and Vice President of Nanchang Normal University's School of Physical Education, during the meeting. "It is about the foundation of national development."

The numbers are stark. According to a set of guidelines for weight management issued by the National Health Commission (NHC) in December 2024, if the issue is not effectively solved, by 2030, the rates of obesity among adults and children in China will reach 70.5 percent and 31.8 percent, respectively. Obesity is linked to chronic conditions, including diabetes, heart disease and different types of cancer.

In stark contrast, back in 1982, the obesity rate among Chinese children and teenagers aged 7 to 17 was just 0.2 percent, according to the NHC.

Four decades of rapid economic growth have transformed diets and lifestyles, shifting the national challenge from getting enough to eat to eating too much of the wrong things.

"We've gone from worrying about starvation to worrying about excess," Chen Wei, a Beijing-based nutritionist, told Beijing Review. "The human body hasn't evolved to handle the abundance and convenience that modernity provides." She added that abundance is visible everywhere, in the proliferation of delivery apps offering greasy meals at midnight, in sedentary office jobs that leave workers motionless for hours, and in the sugary drinks that have become ubiquitous in schoolyards.

Diverse approaches

In response, governments at different levels across the country are mobilizing to address this issue. Li Dachuan, Deputy Director of the NHC's medical administration department, revealed at a press conference in February that more than 5,500 secondary and above medical institutions across the country, about one third of the total, currently have established healthy weight management clinics. China has a three-tier system for grading hospitals, with tertiary hospitals—which have the largest number of beds and provide comprehensive medical services—at the top of the system. These clinics provide everything from dietary counseling to, in severe cases, referrals for bariatric surgery.

"This year, building on the work of previous years, we have decided to improve the quality and expand the coverage of healthy weight management clinics, with the goal that by the end of 2026, all tertiary public general hospitals nationwide will provide healthy weight-management clinic services," Li said.

At the local level, governments are experimenting with their own approaches. In Shanghai, the focus has been on weight management at the grassroots level. Community health centers across the cities are rolling out weight management services under a first-of-its-kind Community Weight Management Service Guideline, developed by the Shanghai Medical Doctor Association under commission from the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission. The guideline was released in late October last year.

Shanghai is equipped with smart health stations featuring weight-management modules, allowing residents to self-measure height, weight, waist circumference and BMI, then receive personalized guidance reports through their phones.

Nanchong City in Sichuan Province employs a different tactic, having launched a volunteer-based intervention program in September 2025. The program recruits volunteers who are overweight to receive free, multidisciplinary guidance from expert teams at hospitals. After eight weeks of intervention, the first cohort of volunteers achieved a 70-percent weight-loss target rate, with an average loss of 4.3 kg and a maximum loss exceeding 18 kg. More importantly, participants saw improvements in blood glucose, blood lipids and blood pressure, with some reporting relief from conditions like fatty liver disease and sleep apnea.

Lunan Subdistrict in Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, has made full use of digital technology. Residents can visit chronic disease clinics at community health centers, complete a comprehensive physical assessment using national fitness testing equipment in about 15 minutes, and receive a professional health prescription with daily exercise and dietary recommendations.

This fusion of technology and health consciousness is rippling far beyond government programs. Across the country, gyms, yoga studios and swimming pools are reporting a surge in users, with weight-management courses proving particularly popular. Online fitness platforms have also flourished, as millions follow live-streamed workouts and virtual coaching sessions from home.

Wang Chaofei, an office worker at a company in Beijing, who lost 10 kg, embodies this shift. "I exercise for an hour before lunch every day," he told Beijing Review. "It helps my brain relax, relieves work stress and afterward I eat more consciously—healthier foods, smaller portions."

Technology, he added, has been a game-changer. "My fitness buddies and I use smart bands and scales to track our weight, body fat and activity levels in real time. Combined with AI algorithms, we get personalized diet and exercise plans. With technology, losing weight feels twice as effective with half the effort."

英文采寫：呂 巖

編 輯：萬明子

責任編輯：季 風

設計排版：盧一凡

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